AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry announced today it will relocate its Personal Care activities from Sempach, Switzerland, to its regional headquarters in Stenungsund, Sweden. The Personal Care technical service and customer service departments will move during the fourth quarter of 2014. Full integration into the existing organization in Stenungsund is expected by December 31, 2014.

"This change will bring many new opportunities that we believe will benefit our customers based in Europe," said Matthias Pfaffernoschke, Sales and Marketing Director for Personal Care. "We'll continue every day to improve our service levels to our customers."

According to General Manager of Surface Chemistry in EMEIA Johan Landfors, AkzoNobel will embed the Personal Care team in the larger applications and technical service organization in Stenungsund. Such integration, he said, willl enable cross-fertilization in innovation, synergies and a critical mass. "The transfer of the customer service desk will support our efforts to increase our responsiveness and improve supply chain performance," Landfors said.